Home  /  Special Initiatives  /  Race and Mental Health Lab

Race and Mental Health Lab

The Race and Mental Health Lab is an academic consortium of diversity-focused research teams within the department, working towards a common goal of ensuring diversity and inclusion in mental health research. Our projects investigate topics ranging from race-related resilience in physician burnout, to program development in combating anti-Black racism. Our mission is to use scientific methods to optimize the racial minority experience in the mental health field, by improving access to services, increasing the quality of care delivered, and improving representation of underrepresented minority providers in psychiatry and psychology.

Our group serves as a collective of researchers, clinicians, educators, trainees, and staff studying the intersection of race and mental health. Many factors play a role in racial disparities in mental health care, including complex generalizability of assessment tools and lack of adequate stratification in research studies. Our mission is to directly address disparities in care by improving mental health care delivery and outcomes of those in underserved racial minority groups.


Race and Mental Health Lab Director

Our mission is to directly address disparities in care by improving mental health care delivery and outcomes of those in underserved racial minority groups.

Race and Mental Health Lab Research Coordinator

Current Projects

Understanding Race-Related Resilience and Protective Factors in Experience and Measurement of Burnout: Studying How to Appropriately Evaluate Distress in Racial Minority Physicians

Mickey T. Trockel, M.D., Ph.D. (PI), Ripal Shah, M.D., MPH; Nikitha K. Menon, BA

Impacts of Discrimination and Racism Experienced by Asian American Medical Students, Residents, and Fellows Subsequent to Covid-19

Huiqiong Deng, M.D., Ph.D. (PI),  Amy Alexander, M.D., Aaron Winkler, M.D., Katherine Fu, M.D., Rishab Gupta, M.D.,  Hira Ayub Silat, M.D., Donna Tran B.S., B.A.

Racial discrimination in medicine: understanding individual and institutional factors that affect perceived discrimination

Amy Alexander, M.D. (PI), Yasmin Owusu, M.D.; Seanna Leath, Ph.D.; Eyuel Terefe, PGY-4.



Studying LGBTQ+ Mental Health Consequences of Relational Distress and Loss during COVID-19

Lawrence M McGlynn, M.D. (PI), Ripal Shah, M.D., MPH; Robert Meisner, M.D.

Processing of Anti-Black Racism through Intradepartmental Black Community Building Events

Yasmin Owusu, M.D. (PI), Ketetha Olengue, M.D. and Ripal Shah, M.D., MPH

Engaging in Anti-Racism Conversations Using Restorative Justice

Ripal Shah, M.D., MPH (PI), Carmin Powell, M.D.; Carolyn Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D.; Magali Fassiotto, Ph.D.; Tene Redman, M.D.